Finally Home
by WriterAtHeart14
Summary: Even after the pure exhaustion of closing a gate between two dimensions, she still needs to talk to him after 353 days a part. Lots of Mileven fluff. ONESHOT!


**A/N- I DO NOT OWN STRANGER THINGS! **

**Hey guys! **

**So this is my first time writing any fanfiction for Stranger Things, but it is not my first fan fiction ever, HOWEVER it is my first fan fiction in a while. I normally write High School Musical fan fiction so for my regular readers (if there's any that are still on here) will probably be a little surprised. However, I admittedly love Stranger Things, and I cannot wait for season 3 to come out next month. I've been binging the first two seasons and I came up with this little oneshot kinda deal. **

**This is what I wish/imagine happened after Eleven and Hopper came back from closing the gate. Sorry if it's kinda boring, but regardless, enjoy! **

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The car ride back from the lab, what was hopefully the last time she'd ever be leaving it, was all a blur to her. She didn't even remember them leaving the lab. All she could remember was lying in the back seat of Hopper's truck as he drove them away from the lab, and back towards the Byers' house. She didn't remember anything distinctly until the truck jolted to a stop and Hopper got out of the truck.

"Where's Eleven? Is she okay? Can I see her?"

It was Mike's frantic voice she heard, and she could tell by the noise level that Dustin and Lucas were probably right behind him.

"Yes, yes, she's in the truck," Hopper was telling them, and she could hear the exhaustion in his voice. "But she is _exhausted. _So let me take her inside, and you all can see her tomorrow." He opened the door and she slowly sat up, still dazed. She could barely make out their figures, but she already knew it was her friends who were looking back at her.

Hopper gently slid an arm beneath her knees and wrapped the other around her shoulders. She felt him carry her into the house, heard voices going back and forth and then she was carefully laid onto the most comfortable bed she's ever had in her whole life. "Mike…" she mumbled, trying to open her eyes.

"Hey, it's okay," He said, gently rubbing her face with a wet cloth. She assumed he was cleaning up the blood that had dried on her face. "He's okay, but you can see him tomorrow."

Normally she would've complied with anything Hopper told her. He had done everything this past year in order to keep her safe, and she knew it. _We're not stupid, _she thought to herself. But she suddenly got a burst of energy and opened her eyes. "I want to see Mike. Now."

"Listen kid, you really need to—"

"I want to see Mike," she said, louder this time.

"Alright, fine," Hopper sighed, rubbing his eyes. He turned and left the room in silence.

She turned on her side and watched the door, barely able to keep her eyes open. But all she wanted more than anything was to see—

The door opened and the most comforting and familiar presence filled the room, causing her to sit up immediately. "Mike."

"Eleven!" He rushed toward her, sitting to her on the bed. He immediately engulfed her in a hug, and she could finally feel herself relax into his hold. He pulled away, his hands moving to hold her's. "I was so worried that you wouldn't—"

"I promised," she interrupted him, already knowing what he was going to say. "I'm here. I'm okay. Are you—?"

"I'm fine," he interrupted. "We're all fine. Will is exhausted, but he's okay. You should've seen how Max stopped her brother and Steve from fighting, it was insane."

Max. She'd temporarily forgotten about the girl she'd only formally met a few hours ago. Well, the girl who introduced herself to her a few hours ago. Eleven hadn't really acknowledged her or anything. The only thing she knew about this girl was when she saw her smiling at Mike, and it gave her this awful feeling in her chest. "Max?"

"She's this new girl at school. Dustin and Lucas are crushing on her, but I think she's really annoying."

"Oh," she said. So he didn't like this girl. That was a good thing. So why did she still have this weird feeling in her chest? "You don't like her?"

Mike didn't seem to catch on to how she felt. "Like I said she's really annoying, but I mean, as a friend, she's okay."

"Just as a friend?"

Suddenly it seemed to hit him. "Are you…jealous?"

"Jealous?" Is that what this feeling in her chest was called? It wasn't quite anger, and she knew what that felt like…

"It's kind of like…when you see something or someone and you feel protective of them, you know?" Mike explained.

She shook her head. "No."

"Okay, why don't you like Max?"

"I saw you in the gym. You were talking…and smiling at each other," she admitted.

His eyes widened. "That was you? You made Max fall off her skateboard?"

Eleven pulled her hands away from him, and looked down at her lap, nodding.

"That's called jealousy," Mike said, slightly grinning."And you have nothing to be jealous of. I don't have feelings for Max like I do for you. Don't worry."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, El."

She looked back down at her hands in her lap.

"Can you tell me where you've been? I mean, after you left Hopper's."

"I went to find Mama. She helped me find my sister."

"Your mom? You have a sister?"

The door opened suddenly and Hopper walked in. "I hate to cut this little reunion short, but El needs to get her rest and you should really get to sleep too, kid. It's late."

Mike turned to her. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She hesitated. She really didn't want Mike to leave, but Hopper was right. They were both exhausted and the past few days had taken a lot out of her. She nodded. "Promise."

"I'll be sleeping in the living room if you need me," he said, getting up from the bed. "Goodnight, El."

"Goodnight Mike," she said softly, watching him walk out of the room.

"I'll be in the living room too," Hopper said. "Night, kid."

"Goodnight."

…

She awoke again, but this time she wasn't on the comfy bed in the Byers' house. Eleven bolted upright. She looked around frantically. The room was completely white from floor to ceiling. The tile floor and walls were all too familiar. She looked down at her lap, noticing her dark clothes were gone, only to be replaced with a hospital gown. _No. No, no, no, no. _

The door opened, causing her to jump. A man with stark white hair and a suit walked into the small room, suddenly making her feel even more confined. "Welcome home, Eleven."

It wasn't real. He was dead. They told her he was dead. Gone. There was no possible way. "Y-You're not real."

"All this time, and you haven't looked for me. Why? Because you thought I was dead? Or because you were afraid of what you might find?"

"Wh-Where's Mike?"

"The Wheeler boy doesn't need you around. You're too much trouble for him. None of those people ever wanted you," Brenner said calmly, stepping closer to the bed.

She shook her head, trying to block out his words. "You're wrong."

"How do you think we found you that night at the school? We didn't have any idea where you were, until that policeman told us you were at the school."

"You're _lying,_" she spat at him.

"You have to confront your pain. You have a wound, Eleven. A terrible wound. And it's festering…"

"No. No, no, no," she said, covering her ears. This wasn't happening. She was safe, she was at home. It was all fake, a dream, it was over. The gate was closed, the bad men were dead.

"And it will grow, spread…"

"No, no, no—"

"And eventually it will kill you."

"NO!" She screamed finally. "No! You're not real! You're _not _real!"

…

"El! Eleven! Eleven, wake up! El, wake up! Wake up!"

She sat up breathing heavily, looking frantically around the room once again. It wasn't a room she immediately recognized, causing her breaths to shorten. She looked down at her clothes, noticing that she was still in her black clothes Kali had given her.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're okay. Just take some deep breaths," came a voice.

She turned to her left and saw Hopper kneeling by the bed, the faint glow of the lamp beside the bed allowed her to see the worry in his eyes. "M-Mike," she managed to get out, her breathing still heavy. Why couldn't she catch her breath? "Wh-Where's Mike?"

Hopper hesitated for a split second, but then got up and ran out of the room. He returned a few seconds later with Mike, still in his jeans and t-shirt from earlier, but clearly slept in. Mike sat down next to her on the bed again. "El? El, what's wrong?"

"M-Mike." She reached out for him, she needed to know that he was still here, that he didn't want to leave her. "D-Don't leave."

Mike took her hand and held it firmly. "I'm right here, El. I'm not going anywhere."

"I need you to take some deep breaths, kid," Hopper said.

Eleven shook her head. "C-Can't. Can't breathe."

Hopper didn't back down. "You need to try."

"Can't. Papa said—"

"He's dead," Hopper affirmed, and it sounded almost angry. "He can't hurt you anymore."

Eleven flinched at his tone, remembering Brenner's words to her. _"How do you think we found you that night at the school? We didn't have any idea where you were, until that policeman told us where you were."_

Was it true? Had Hopper sold them out that night? Was he the reason she lived in the woods for months? The reason that she couldn't see Mike anymore? The feeling of betrayal burned inside her chest. _He's also the one who was feeding you and eventually gave you a house to sleep in, _she reminded herself. So how was she supposed to feel about this man?

"Can I try something?" Mike's voice interrupted her thoughts. He sounded far away. "Just give us a second by ourselves."

She couldn't tell what Hopper was thinking, but there was a pause, and then as he stormed out of the room, he said, "Okay, but no funny business, Wheeler."

"Ew, gross!" Mike shouted back at him, only to have Hopper glare over his shoulder and shut the door behind him. Mike turned his attention back to her. "El? Can you hear me?"

She nodded slowly, still trying to get her breathing under control.

He took both of her hands again. "You're at Will's house, in bed. You were just having a bad dream. Mrs. Byers and Hopper are right outside. All of our friends are sleeping in the living room. You're safe. No one's gonna hurt you here."

Being able to feel his hands in hers' and see him in front of her created a strangely soothing feeling over her thoughts. She had never felt this way before.

"Are you okay?" He asked, placing a hand on her shoulder.

Eleven nodded again, her breaths returning to normal. "Better."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She looked away from him for the first time since he'd entered the room. She really didn't want to talk about it. She never liked talking about Papa, ever. Especially since she thought she'd gotten past all of the nightmares and flashbacks of her time in the lab. What if what he'd said in the dream wasn't true? But what if it was? She was pretty sure that Mike would be get mad at Hopper again. Even then, Hopper was still the one who had been protecting her all this time. Does that change anything?

"Hey," Mike said, bringing her back from her thoughts once more. "We don't have to if you don't want to. I just want you to feel better."

"I want to," she said, finally looking back at him.

"What happened in your dream?"

She re-explained the dream to him, not even realizing that it still brought her to tears. Her breathing quickened, and her breaths came out in short gasps by the end of it.

"El, it's okay. You're okay. You're safe here. No one here is going to hurt you. And no one here will let anyone else hurt you. I won't let it happen. I can't lose you again. It was just a nightmare."

"Nightmare?" She wasn't sure she'd ever heard that word before.

"It's another word for a bad dream. Except nightmares are usually worse than just bad dreams," he explained.

"Are you mad?" She asked fearfully.

"Mad? Why would I be mad?"

"About what Papa said, about how they knew where to find us."

"Well that's the thing about nightmares," Mike said. "They can be really scary, but they're not always true."

"But—but my dreams are—"

"Different, I know. But even if it is true, it doesn't matter anymore. There's no one left to hide from. Are you mad at Hopper for it?"

"I…I don't know." It wasn't a lie. She'd never lie to Mike. Hearing him say exactly what she was thinking did make her feel a little better, but she still couldn't decide how she felt about it.

"If you had to do tonight over again, even after having the dream, would you go back into the lab with Hopper?"

Would she? Despite being terrified of going back in there, Hopper did make her feel stronger and safer than she'd ever felt there before. "Yes."

"There's your answer." He paused, as they both looked at each other, neither of them knowing what to say. She couldn't understand how he made her feel so calm. "Are you gonna be okay?" He asked.

She nodded reluctantly, knowing that they both needed to get back to sleep eventually.

He moved to get off the bed but she grabbed his wrist. He stopped almost instantly. "El?"

"Stay? Please."

"But what about Hop—"

She turned her head and the door opened, to reveal Hopper leaning against the wall across from the bedroom fast asleep already. "Stay," she repeated, no longer a question.

"I'll stay until you fall asleep, okay? That way nobody gets in trouble," he suggested, climbing further onto the bed. He moved to the other side of her and sat with his back against the headboard.

Eleven moved the pillow so that she could sit with it behind her back, against the headboard next to Mike. She leaned her head on his shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I'm so glad you're home," he said quietly.

"Me too." She paused, letting their silence fill the room for a moment. It was a comfortable silence. It was no longer the eerie, frightening silence that she had been getting used to. "Mike?"

"Yeah, El?"

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"Being my home."

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**A/N- I hope you all enjoyed. I don't know if this will be a regular thing or not...I guess it depends on how season 3 goes? or if I still have time this summer? We'll see. Please review and let me know what you think! **

**~WriterAtHeart14~**


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